The August Hit List: JenChan’s, Talat Market, Bomb Biscuit Co., and More

The possibilities for fantastic pizza, Chinese food and more are internationally inspired and almost endless at this =neighborhood favorite, born out of popular demand from an East Atlanta Village supper club. Fun-loving diners seeking a taste of the world — without leaving the perimeter — are fans of JC’s inventive rectangular-ish pies like the thick Lazzagna whose sauce includes ground beef and pork, plus ricotta and mozzarella. Also try All the Mushrooms, made with lion’s mane, shiitake, bunapi, button, and maitake fungi, plus a blend of mozzarella, goat and parmesan cheese, drizzled with balsamic reduction. If you’re a wing-lover, be sure to try theirs, especially the Chinese lemon pepper wet or soy-ginger-Shaoxing-wine marinated Asian wings.

Chef Shai Lavi is behind this joyful gastronomic experience where a maximum of 26 guests per night enjoy some of the most delicious Mediterranean food available in Atlanta from Thursday to Sunday, seated family-style at long antique tables and surrounded by art. Lavi, of Libyan and Turkish Sephardic heritage, is a master of highlighting freshness in his menu, which changes daily and is offered either in a three-course format for $50 (including starter, main course and dessert), or as a tasting menu of six to 13 courses with wine pairing. Having put Nur Kitchen on the map, fans of Lavi are well aware of his talent, from his unmistakably delicious hummus and brilliant versatility on display in his vegetable mezzes, to his whole-roasted fish and schnitzels. Dinner always begins at 6 p.m. and continues until the last guest leaves.

Visit The Third Space’s website here and make reservations through their Google form.

Bon Ton’s dynamic duo Eric Simpkins and Darren Carr are at it again, bringing back their former Top Flr space with new, retro-cool 1970s energy, large-format bevvies and shareable bites. Ascend the stairs from Bon Ton to the glowing red lounge, with its retro stemware, shaggy banquettes, colorful hanging beads, a shiny silver piano and, of course, a disco ball. Order a chilled seafood tower (mussels, clams, oysters, shrimp, crab legs) for your party. Then kick the drinking into gear with one-person cocktails like I Found A Reason (made with mezcal, cardamom, lemon, peach and egg), or shareable drinks like the Cool It Down, which serves six at $99, and is made with Cognac, Tempus Fugit liqueur, creme de menthe, Suze and more. They’ve even got a cocktail called Head Held High, made with delta-8-infused rum. Hold up; wait a minute …

Originally a wine pop-up at recently opened bar Whoopsie’s, Long Snake now enjoys an extended residency at Georgia Beer Garden, where dinner and drinks are served weekly on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. For sipping there’s a tidy list split into “Mixed Up” drinks like moscatel spritzes and kalimotxo (house red wine with Coke), then thoughtful selections of not just sparkling, whites, reds and dessert wines, but also skin contacts, Madeira, port, and plenty of sherry and vermouth. Dinner ranges from grilled chicken hearts and whole-fried wild Virginia croaker, and during dinner service inside you’ll hear tunes spun from vinyl records. You can also get snacks outside in the backyard garden, including pork rillettes, toasted buttered pecans and more. FYI, it’s a cashless operation. 

See the menus and get more details at Long Snake’s website. 

Not every brunch restaurant in ATL takes reservations, so it’s great to see biscuit master Erika Council join Resy and make it easy for you to enjoy her extremely popular, breakfasty brunchery on Highland Ave. The Glori-fied chicken biscuit sandwich is a place where you want to be, and you can also have your fried chicken thigh made with lemon pepper. You can also order a la carte biscuits like cheddar jalapeno and black pepper bacon, sweet versions like the B’onut (deep-fried biscuits rolled in cinnamon and sugar), Council’s fluffy buttermilk “bis-cake” pancake plate and other full breakfast specials. 

Once again Resy has brought one of the city’s most inarguably brilliant restaurants into the fold, as Talat Market will take reservations right here starting Aug. 21 for its unbound presentations of Thai food. Chefs Parnass Savang and Rod Lassiter have made their restaurant’s always-fluctuating menu a thing of adventure for Atlantans, using techniques of Thai cooking on locally and regionally grown fruits and produce. (The results from a recent Florida trip to nerd-out on mango varieties have made their way to the dessert menu in the form of mango sticky rice.) Recurring favorites include green curry snapper, and chicken or mushroom laap, but it’s the element of surprise and creative collaboration (score a seat if you can at the upcoming Aug. 7 dinner pop-up with Gene’s Smoked Meats) that makes it such a magnificent place to eat.

Get more details about the upcoming Resy-fication of Talat Market on Instagram.

This charming diner, with its glossy purple bar stools, ornate tiled flooring and tall windows, is yet another bit of evidence that Atlanta remains in a glorious era of gourmet sandwiches. The restaurant’s Instagram account is a great place to see for yourself the handheld beauty of sammies like the smoked beet “pastrami,” or the beefy OKie hoagie: smoked top round topped with griddled onions, pickles and American cheese. They also have great sides like the pizza-style bread “bomb,” and you’ll find constant sandwich specials like chicken parm made with cheesy garlic bread, and spice-rubbed fried chicken brined in ranch. On drinks you’ll find Halfway Crooks farina kolsch on draft, nine wines by the glass, cocktails like Captain’s Log (rye, biscotti liqueur, amaro, and bitters), and two cocktails in carafe size, including the mezcal, rhubarb-and-ginger-infused gin, Aperol and lime Rapid Transit.

See the menu and get more information at Bona Fide Deluxe’s website.

This stalwart of Atlanta’s dining scene has been around since 1968, and offers a warm, welcoming, classic Italian environment that has attracted a list of celebrity guests it proudly displays on its website, from Kenny Rogers to Montell Jordan. The kitchen works all week long, with takeout orders accepted daily starting at 1 p.m., and dining room service beginning four hours later. Owner Antonio Noviello’s daughter now runs things, and you’ll find her name along with other family members on menu items like the chicken and eggplant with mozzarella, aka “Petto di Pollo alla Allesandra.” There’s also plenty to enjoy on the vitello section of the menu, from veal piccata in lemon butter sauce to veal prosciutto in mushroom and white wine sauce. It’s all in the family, and this is how they do it. Nino’s is also a cashless restaurant, FYI.

Operating from its new Southern Feedstore counter space, opened mid-June just across the hall from the second location of its sister/mothership coffee bar Buteca, this chef-driven shop of outstanding tacos and more is all about Los-Angeles-inspired street fare, which it proved it could serve at top levels from its stationary Grant Park food truck. Chef Timmee Rufino (who’s worked Lazy Betty, Juniper Cafe, Bazati and other ATL standouts) now has the capacity to serve lunch, dinner and late night meals (Fridays and Saturdays) and once you’ve had any of his tacos, including the spicy al pastor with pineapple salsa, veggie with zucchini, charred tomato fresca and habanero vin, or the Gringo beef taco (an awesome interpretation of what a Taco Bell taco should be), with sides like birria rice you’ll be very much hooked.

See the menu and get more details at Butaco’s website. 

Boasting that it serves “the best chargrilled oysters in Atlanta,” this Big-Easy-themed restaurant and rooftop lounge offers up an affordably priced place to nosh on things like fried salmon bites, pasta, shrimp Creole, fried chicken with red beans and rice, and New Orleanian sweets, including bread pudding and fluffy beignets. They also feature daily happy hour specials such as $3 lamb chops on Mondays. That rooftop bar is also a prime place for hookah puffs and rum punch while enjoying an incredible view of nearby Mercedes-Benz Stadium.